As it happens, Peavy will pitch against the Cubs today at Wrigley Field, a place he visited regularly as perhaps the ace of aces in Padres history. His own struggles since the trade to Chicago and return to form in 2012 were the original aim of this column, an approach Peavy quickly and deftly turned into a talk about Akerfelds and what he’d meant to Peavy.

Certainly, too, Peavy was loath to go on and on about his own recovery from health issues when his friend was dealing with something so much more serious. But, fact is, Peavy’s comeback from various injuries and surgery is really the comeback of the year so far in baseball.

“I’m in an unbelievable place as far as my career goes,” he said. “I truly don’t take anything for granted. I know what it’s like to be on top of the mountain. I know what it’s like to be in the lowest of lows, thinking this game may be taken away from you.”

The top of the mountain in terms of personal accomplishment was 2007, the rare Triple Crown of pitching, the unanimous Cy Young Award. After a few starts that made it look like he’d be just as dominant in the American League, the mountain crumbled and Peavy tumbled, rock bottom being the 2010 game where he walked off the field with a lat muscle torn away from the bone in his back.

You don’t, or shouldn’t, expect to come back from a re-attachment procedure any faster than Tommy John surgery. Peavy pitched on and endured the two worst two seasons of his career, based on his ERAs over 4.60 in ’10 and ’11. He only made 19 appearances last year, including one game out of the bullpen.

“It’s tough when you think you can play on pain medication, have a shot, and then you go out there and you’re not nearly the person you once were,” said Peavy. “It’s hard to play the game that way.”

Know this, however. Through all that, Peavy posted a winning record for the White Sox, a 17-13 mark if you throw in the first few months after the trade from San Diego. During spring training, Balsley said he had a feeling that Peavy was back on the verge of greatness, a prophecy that Peavy has fulfilled with his 4-1 record and 2.65 ERA.

Two of Peavy’s eight starts in 2012 have been complete games, back to back, one a shutout of the A’s and the other a 1-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox. With nine walks and 48 strikeouts in 57 innings, his WHIP of 0.92 is better than the majors-best 1.06 he had in ’07. Peavy’s pitching in a much smaller home ballpark, facing fully loaded AL lineups almost every time out, and loving it.

“A couple of guys have asked me if I’ve reinvented myself,” said Peavy. “I’m not doing anything any different than I was when San Diego saw me all those years. I don’t know any different. You come back and try new things, try to learn to throw different ways, but I’m doing the same stuff that I was successful with. Why would I not want to pitch that way?”